Spindle rail lifting mechanism



Sept. 29, 1931. H. A. OWEN SPINDLE RAIL LIFTTNG MECHANISM 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 10, 19250 8 VI uh n M @w/ mfluk e V A im V m E H Sept. 29, 1931. OWEN SPINDLE RAIL LIFTING MECHANISM Filed April 10, 1950 SSheets-Sheet 2 Henry Aflwen bVm/ u/ I Anya.

Sept. 29,1931. H. Al OWEN SPINDLE RAIL LIFTING MECHANISM 5 Sheets-Sheet I5 7 Filed April 10, 1930 lnvenror. Henry Aflwen AH'ys.

Patented Sept. 29, 1931 1,s24 ,7ss

HENRY-A. Owen] 01%; aoas aamsimestms team we mm a manna CHINE COMPANY;

MASSACHUSETTS :4}. i a: a w

om'ironnr Anaemia,@MAssAcHnsEms, A. .1QQRP0RATI0N or portion' of yarn lying between these "two points is the'particular section of yarn that is being spun, and sinc'ethis portionbfyarn form twistis produced.

is invariable in length it'follows that'a uni} In a moving spindle 'r'ail'imachine'ofthe v usual type of construction}thejbuilder mo tion acts to lower the spindle rails from their upper position when the-bobbins are empty to their extreme low "position when they-have received the desired quantityof yarn. The rails must then belifted by 'ha n'd' totheir initial position" to permit dofiing.' The weight of the rails spindles andother parts which must be moved-is very greatand consequently requires considerable eflort'to raise by hand which prohibits the-employment of women" operators to carefor such machines.- Furthermore, such a condition definitelylimits the length to which afsuitabl e machine may be built. The present invention has-T for its general object to overcome thislimitation by providing power dri fen means to raise the-spindle rails; a

The object of the invention-is further: to provide means which may beconnected' to a driven element on the machine to raisefthe spindle rails into doflingposition.

A further object of theinvention is to provide a spindle rail lifting mechanism which may be manually connected to agmov ing part of the machine and which will-function automatically to" disengage therefrom when the rail has reacheditsupper nostposn ti 1' :3

The object of the invention'is further "to provide means to prevent qthe' spindle rail:

1530,; I sqiai No. 443,915,.

fio in dropping rapidly downward by; -it's' own- 'weight after the lifting n'uechanism has been disengaged from its source of power and? before the' bui-lder motion to itsgs'tarting' condition.- I The object ofthe invention is furthento' provide meansco'nnectible to a driven element 'on the: machine which "actsto' raise the spindle's into dofiing position and continues to hold themfi-n such position while the liftingfnieans remainsconnected 1 to the driven element: 1 V I 7 Dthenebjiects and featuresiwill more fully appear from therfollowing "description in connectioni' with the accompanying 7 draw inigs; and" willibe vpart'icularly pointed o'ut. in;

the claims.

1 Fig. 1' isa partial-side view o fa spinning frame 3 embodying the ;P -incipl,es of. theinventionqa v Fig.==-2 is' a transverse sectional view sub stantiallyonline2 -2 Fig.

' Ei geg is a sectional View taken-substantial;

lyronithe line 3 -3- Fig;i2.' r 7 Figclisia-i detail: viewion an enlarged: scale of the mechanism which- =functions to raise thespialdleraill- 'i Figxfif-illustrates a modified form of the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 4; a 5 *6 is a'horizcntal section on line Fig.4 looking down." I a The invention is herein shown'as applied to a typical' form of spinning frame in which the bolster or spindle rails are movable-and are eont-rolled by-the builder'motion to lay the yarn-onthe bobbins in a massf of the desiredhas been restored shape. Certain of the general features of the I rnachine' are shown somewhat diagrammatically. framesl and-2 are provided which constitute the major 'supportingmemf 'bers fomthemechanism. The spindles 3 0,138

supported upon moving spindlerails e and 5 situatedirespeotivelyat: the side 61 1mm; chinei #The'fitwo rails aredesii ably wnheta connectors 6 to which the rails was Apertures are also formed in the spindle rails to register with the apertures in the transverse supports'through'which the rods 7 also pass.

builder motion is provided which controls the movement of the spindle rails relatively to the ring rails to build up a mass of yarn on the bobbins. Such" a builder motion comprises an arm 10 pivoted atone end ona stud 11 secured to the end frame 1. The other end offthe arm is provided with a follower 12 which isengaged bya builder cam 13 which is driven in the customarymanner from a mov-j i-ngpart of themachine such as the draftroll 14 through'a suitable train of gearing 15 which drives a vertical shaft 16 having a worm 17 on the lower end thereof meshing with a worm, gearlS fixedto the shaft 19 upon which the cam 13 is mounted. The lobes on the cam as they ride over the follower 12 cause the arm to move. The motion of the arm is transmitted to the spindle rails in ny desirable manner preferably .by means of aflexible connector suchvas thechain 20. The manner-in which the flexible connector 20 functionsto lift thespindle rails will hereinafter be more fully described.

V A suitable pickmotion: for imparting gain to the traverse is illustrated. Thisis accomplishedby unwinding a drum 21 upon which the chain 20 is wound. The drum 21 is fixed to'a shaft 22 rotatably mounted in a frame 23 on the outer end of thearm 10. A worm'gear. 24 is also secured to the shaft-22 and is driven by a worm 25 fixed to a horizontal shaft 26 mounted in the frame 23."; :The shaft 26 also has ,a-ratchet wheel 27 secured thereto at its outer end. Mounted loosely on the shaft 26 adjacent the ratchet wheelisan actuating arm 28 upon which is mounted a pawl 29 situated in a plane to engage the ratchet wheel 27. Locatedin the path of the actuator 28- is a sto'p30 secured ina ,fixed bracket in a manner able.-. 1 t 1 As thearm .10 moves downwardlytheactuator 28 engages the stop ,and is rotated through a small are which in turn rotates the ratchet wheel27 by reason of the engagement of the-pawl 29 with the teeth'thereof. The drum 20 is thus actuated through the worm 25iand it'sgear 24. On the up strokeof the arm 10-theactuator 28 falls by gravity until a shoulder 32 on the actuator engages. a stop 33 and uponthe -folloWing-down "stroke the ratchet is again 'moved through its predeterminedarc,

The motion of the arm 10 may be; transmit ted to-the ring rail in any desirable manner.

As herein illustrated the connectingchain 20 rsaevse to beaverticallya-adjust- 7 extends upwardly and partially around a drum 34 fixed upon a transverse shaft 35 which is rotatably mounted in bearings 37 and 38 secured to longitudinal supports 39 and.4O which in turn are fixed to the end frames 1 and 2. The end of the chain 20 is fastened to the drum 34 at 41. Adjacent the drum 34 is a similar drum 42 which has 2 chain 43 partially. encircling it and attachec thereto at 44. From the drum 42 the chain 43 passes over an idler pulley 45' which rotates on a supporting shaft 46 fixed to a girder 47 extending'lengthwise of the machine and securely attached to arigid part thereof such as the longitudinal supports 39 and 40. The chain 43extends lengthwise of the machine for' a shortdistance and is secured to a connecting member preferably a bar 48 extending substantially throughout the length of the machine by means of an eye bolt 49 or other suitable fastening. I Secured to the bar48 at suitable intervals are a plurality of flexible supporting members 50 which pass over av series of direction pulleys 51 rotatably mounted on the girder 47. The supporting members 50 are secured at their lower ends to the transverse connectors (Sat 52. U Q.

At theopposi te end o f the transverse shaft 35 is secured a drum'53similar to the drum 42 andhaving secured to it and passing part Way around its; periphery a chain 54 which passes over an idler pulley 55 rotatably mounted on a girder 56 similarto and situ 48.. The bar 57 has secured thereto flexible supporting'members 58;which pass over idler pulleys 59 and thence downwardly and are connectedto the opposite ends of the transverse connectors 6. The movement of the traverse mechanism oscillates the shaft 35 by means of the chain 20 which results in raising and lowering the spindle rails through the variousconnecting members above described. -When the bobbins are filled the spindle rails are in their lowest position, and in orderto permit dofiing and to start the spinning operations upon a group of empty bobbins the spindle rails must be raised to their uppermost positions, This operation haihitherto'been accomplished by rotating the shaft 45; by handand then taking up the slack in thechain 20-by rotating by hand the ratchet. mechanism on the builder motion.

Novel means are provided herein which function to raise the spindle rails by power into doflingposition and hold them in such position until themachine-has been adjusted to start the spinning operation. upon another group of bobbins. In order to illustrate the broad; principle involved "a specific manner Of;acco"mpl ishing the desired result is herein shown; As previously pointed out the former method' of. lifting the railuwas to rotate the shaft by hand. Power derived from a moving part of the machine is in the present instance directly applied to rotatethis shaft and thus lift the spindlerails. i

- The draft roll 14 is driven positively'from" the draft roll which is connected to the main drive of the machine which is not shown.- 5 The usualstructure is employed to drivetheiroll'l4 from the roll 60 and consists of a bevel gear 61 on the roll 60 meshingfwith a complementary gear 62 :mounted on a transverse shaft 63 having upon its opposite end a bevel gear 64 which meshes with a complementary gear 65 upon the draft roll '14 by means of which it is positively driven at the same speed as the roll 60. V I V I A rotating element on the machine is utilized to derive power to raisethe spindle rail. 7

The machine must, therefore, be in operation during the rail lifting operation. After the spindles have accumulated the required amount of yarn the operator without stopping,

the frame throws into operation the rail. lifting means which will hereinafter be more fully described which immediately causes the rail to "startrisi'ng. Since'the =machine con tinues to spin the yarna coarse spiral of yarn will be "laidover the surface of the yarn mass as the rails rise which is a normal procedure and is desirable for various reasons well known to those skilled in the art. When the rails have reached their dofiing-position the rail lifting means is automatically thrown out of operation and by means to be hereinafter described is held inits raised position. The machine is then stopped by the operator to permit the full bobbins to be doffed, v The transverse shaft 63 serves as a convenient point from which to drivepower-to lift the spindle rails. To accomplish this a bevel gear 66 is fixed to the shaft 63 andmeshes with a complementary gear67 upon theend of a vertical shaft 68 mounted in a swinging bracket 69 which has an oflset arm 7 O. The arm 7 O has a horizontal aperture 71- therein through which the shaft 63 passes and 1n which it may IQtRtG. A collar 72 on the shaft serves to prevent longitudinal movement of the bracket along the shaft by confining the.

arm between the collar and the hub of the gear 66. At the lower end ofthe shaft 68 is secured a worm 73 which may be caused tov mesh with a worm gear 7 4 on the shaft 35.

The lower endof the bracket '69 embraces the worm 73 to present a bearing 75-below the worm. Adjacent the bearing 75 is located a pin 76 upon which is pivoted a short link 77-, the free end of which is pivotally connected to an arm 78 rigidly secured to a shaft 79 which in turn is pivoted in a bracket 80 secured to the end frame 2. The shaft 79 extends through the bracket 80 to present a short'section of shaft to which is secured-an arm 81", the outer'e'nd of which is located in the path of anarm'82fixed tothe shaft 35;

The link 77 and the arm 78 are so alined that they. constitute a toggle connection between the bracket 69 and the frame 2 which is operated by means of a hand lever 83 secured tion-85 slightly above the center line extending between the axis of the shaft 79 and the pin 76 thus locking the bracket-against moveme'nt due to pressuretendmg to separate the worm and gear when a load is applied'to the ,erably with the axis of theirpivotal connec I I geara To disengage the worm-from the gear I the" hand lever 83 is swung into the dotted line 'posltion shown in Fig. l which. breaks the toggle and permits the bracket '69 to swing aboutthe shaft 35 into the dotted position; V

In order to prevent the spindle rails from dropping downward by their own weight gear a ratchet wheel 86 is secured to the shaft 35. The-ratchet wheel 86 is engaged by a pawl 87: pivoted upon the transverse sup port40 which acts to prevent rotation of the shaft 35 to prevent downward movement of the spindle rails.

'WVhenthe bobbins have received the desired quantity ofv yarn the spindles are in thus raising the spindle rails. The arm 82 also rotates with the shaft. 35 and is so positioned thereon as to engage the arm 81 on the shaft 7 9 of the toggle mechanism and autowhen the worm 73 is disengaged from its I matically break the toggle when thespindle I rails have reachedtheirtop position. The ratchet wheel 86 and the pawl 87 then cooperate to sustain the rails in this position. y

. After dofling, the machine must again b4; put in condition to start the s inning opera 'tion to filla group of empty obbins. This may be done in various ways. A preferred procedure however is as follows. During the process of raising the spindle rails above described the chain connection 2O leading to V the builder motion has been slackened. This, slack is taken up in the usual manner by rotating the, shaft 26, carrying the worm 25 until the chain is tight and the follower 12 is hearing against the face of the'cam13. The cam at this time preferably has been brought into a predetermined position where the follower is closely adjacent: to but not at the high point of the lobe on the cam so that the initial movement of the cam will raise the spindle rails very slightly, and in doing so will rotate the shaft 35 a slight amount and thus relieve the pressure ofthe particular tooth 'of'the ratchet which is engaging the pawl and'permit the operator to-throw the pawl entirely out of engagement with the ratchet wheel. Thus the builder motion is again permitted to .control the movement of the spindle rails. .2

The cam 13 is brought in the predetermined position above referred to in any de-. sired manner such as by manipulation of the main starting mechanism of the machine after the spindle rail has been lifted by power as described and held in such position bythe pawl and ratchet 86 and 87. The operator can accomplish the desired result by quickly starting and stopping the machine several times. The chain connector 20 is then tightened as above described. The machine is then in conditio nto resume spinning.

' A modified form of mechanism to raise the spindle railsby power is illustrated in Fig. 5. In this construction a bracket 88 is suspended from the shaft 35 in the same manner as the bracket 69 and has a vertical shaft 89 therein driven bythe beveled gears 66-and '67 from the shaft 63.- On the lower end of the shaft 89 is secured a worm 90 which may be moved into engagement with a mutilated gear 91"on the shaft 35. The worm 90 is meshed with the gear 91 bymeans of a toggle mechanism similar to that used in the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 4. A link 92 is pivoted on the bracket 88 at one end and at its other end to an arm 93 secured to a shaft 94 pivoted in a bracket 95 fixed to the end frame 2. "A hand lever 96 is secured to the arm 93 and adapted to be swung into the full line position shown in Fig. 5'to straighten thetoggle which re sults in causing the worm 90 tomeshwith the Y gear 91.

To raise a spindle rail by means of the above described mechanism the same pro-.

- thrown into the dotted position shown in Fig.

5 to disengage the worm 90 from the gear 91 and to permit the builder motion to again control the downward movement of the spindle rails;

er motion acting-to lower said spindle rail with said. spindles and bobbins from its initial topmost position where the bobbins are empty down to full bobbin position and means detachably connected to a driven element of the machine acting when connected to lift the spindle rail with the full bobbins and spindles to itsinitial topmost position to per- In a spinning frame, a plurality of spindles, vertically movable spindle rail upon which the spindles are mounted, a builder motion acting to lower said spindle rail with said spindles and bobbins from its initial topmost. positionwhere the bobbins are empty down to thefull bobbin position, and power driven means acting'when connected to raise said spindle rail withthe full bobbins and spindles back to its initial topmost position to permit dotting. v y

'3. In a spinning frame, a plurality of spindles, a vertically movable spindle rail upon which the spindles are mounted, a fixed ring rail, a builder motion acting to lower the,

spindle rail from its initial topmostposition where the bobbins are empty'down to full bobbin position and means connectible to a driven element on the machine operable when connected'to raise the spindle rail by power into its initial topmost position to permit doffing and means acting automatically there afterto disengage said spindle rail from saic; driven element.

l. In a spinning frame, a plurality of spindles, a vertically movable spindle rail upon which the spindles are mounted, a fixed ring rail, a builder motion acting to lower the spindle rail vertically relatively to the ring rail to lower the spindles from their initial topmost position when the bobbins are empty to'full bobbin positionand means manually connectible to a driven element on the machine acting when connected to lift the spindle rail by power into its initial topmost position to permit dofling.

5. In a spinning frame, a plurality of spindles. movable spindle rail upon which the spindles are mounted, a fixed ring rail, a builder motion acting to lower the spindle rail vertically relatively to the ring rail from its initial topmost position when the bobbin are empty to full bobbin position, and means. manually connectible to a driven element on the machine actingto lift the spindle rail carrying the spindles with full bobbins thereon by power into its initial topmost position to permit dofiing and thereafter automatically to disengage from said driven element;

.- 6-. In a spinning frame, a plurality of spindles a vertically movable spindle rail 7 lion when the bobbins are empty to full boboin position and means driven from a moving part of the machine conneotibleto said flex ible connector acting to move the spindle rail carrying the spindles with full bobbins there on by power into its initial topmostposition to permit dofling.

7. In a spinning frame, a plurality of spin-.- dles, a vertically movable spindle rail upon which the spindles are mounted, a fixed ring rail, a builder motion, a flexible connector act- '7 ing to transmit the traverse and the gain of the builder motion to the spindle rail to low-' er it from its initial topmost position when the bobbins are empty into full bobbin position and power driven means connectible to said flexible connector acting when connected to raise the spindle rail vertically into its initial topmost position to permit dofiin'g. Y r 8. In a spinning frame, a plurality of spindles, a movable spindle rail upon which the spindles are rotatably mounted, a fixed ring rail, a builder motion acting to move the spindle rail to carry the spindles axially through the ringsin the ring rail from their initial position when the bobbins are'empty to full bobbin position to permit dofling, means detachably connectible to a driven element on the machine acting to move the spindle rail by power intoits initial pos1- tion to permit dofling and thereafter tomaintain such position of the rail as the driven element continues to move.

9. In a spinning frame, a plurality of spindles, a movable spindle rail upon which the spindles are mounted, a fixed ring rail, a builder motion acting to lower the spindle rail vertically relatively to the ring rail to lower the spindles from their initial position when the bobbins are empty to full bobbin position, means manually connectible to a driven element on the machine acting to I lift the spindle rail by power into its initial position to permit doffing and thereafter to maintain such positionof the spindle rail as the driven element continues to move and thereby prevent downward movement of the spindle rail before the builder motion is restored to starting condition. I

10. In a spinning frame, a plurality of spindles, a movable spindle rail upon which :he spindles are mounted, a fixed ring rail, a builder motion acting'to lower the spindle rail vertically relatively to the ring rail to lower the spindlesfrom their initial position when the bobbins are empty to full bobbin position, lifting means manually connectible to a driven element on the machine acting to lift the spindle rail by power into lower it from its initial topmost posimotion 'actmgto ti'oi'i' whenthe uobbinse're"em tyte t itsinitial position; rim disengage s i iven 'ele nent whe fult jt obbin p sition pnvent th'e pi nd'le" in W gr y; un'1 the bu ild'e'r 'motion rest ed to sftarti mndition: I la;*spinning fra me, a plurality of spindles, "vertically movable ns indle rails'g u on whieh the jspindles are meunted, fixed ring? ra i'ls "coo atirig therewith," al builder;- lower the s'pindlerai ls vegti'ally relatively t( )"t l1'e 'l irl'g mile 130 lOWIff the spindles from their initial topmost posi full bob mainly bin ,msitiw, .a *fshaftiro mounted in the teena er the machine, flexible meansconnected from the ends of said transverse shaft to each spindle rail acting to raise the spindle rails when the shaft is rotated, means connected to a driven element on the machine manually connectible with and operable to rotate said transverse shaft whereby the spindle rails are raised by power into their initial topmost position.

12. In a spinning frame, a plurality of spindles, a movable spindle rail upon which the spindles are mounted, a fixed ring rail, a builder motion acting to lower the spindle rail vertically relatively to the ring rail from its initial position when the bobbins are empty to full bobbin position, a transverse shaft rotatably mounted in the frame of the machine, means connected thereto acting to raise the spindle rail when the shaft is rotated, means driven from a moving element on the machine, manually operable toggle means acting to connect said driven means with said transverse shaft to rotate the same whereby the spindle rail will be raised by power into its initial position. i t 13. In a spinning frame, a plurality of spindles, a movable spindle rail upon which the spindles are mounted, a fixed ring rail, a builder motion acting to lower the spindle rail vertically relatively to the ring rail from its initial position when the bobbins are empty to full bobbin position, a transverse shaft rotatably mounted in the frame of the machine, means connected thereto acting to raise the spindle rail when the shaft is rotated, a swinging bracket, an auxiliary shaft rotatably mounted therein and driven from a rotating element on the machine, a worm thereon, a worm gear adjacent said worm on said transverse shaft, manually op erable means acting to swingsaid bracket to engage said worm and said gear whereby said transverse shaft may be rotated to lift the spindle rail and means acting automatlcally'to disengage said worm and sald gear when the spindle rail has reached the upper limit of its traverse. p

14. In a spinning frame, aplural1ty of spindles, a movable spindle rail upon which means aeting 'antomaticah ii I iftmginieans from said 7 the spindles :aremounted, a fixed ring rail, f

a builder motion, a flexible connector actingto transmit the traverse andthe gain of. the builder motion to the spindle rail to move;

.itlfrom its initial position when'the bobbins are empty to full bobbin position, means. driven from a moving-part of the machine connectible to saidflexible {connector acting to move the'spindlerail by power intoits initial position to permit .dofling and means acting automatically to disconnect said driven means from said flexible connector when the spindlerail reachesdofiing position.

HENRY A. OWEN;

.Intestimonywhereof, I have signed my a name to this specification. 

